Dead in His Theory
False teachers can have wonderful sounding theories (and some not so nice), but only the man consumed by Christ expresses the reality and will of God, bringing life to the world. You need the Word made flesh; a cascade of spiritually-oriented words will never do. “For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:29 MKJV).
A friend writes:
Subject: Sovereignty of God / A.W. Pink
Hi Paul,
I know you all are busy, so please no hurry in response.
I have been reading Mr. Pink in the above mentioned. It has been very comforting to read until I got to the trinity part this evening.
My question or thought on this is that Mr. Pink wasn’t given full repentance by The Lord. I know He is in control of all at all times. I get the sense that as with everything He gives as He chooses and to those He chooses He gives to see what is of Him….
Dan
Paul replies:
Hi Dan,
You ask about Arthur Pink. I find his materials difficult to read. That can partially be due to style, coming from a different era, but the main reason is because he’s flowery and intellectually religious. As a Reformed Baptist or evangelical espousing Calvinism, Pink gives you head knowledge and speculation rather than spiritual revelation and certainty. Show us one prophet or servant of God who writes this way. You won’t find it because it doesn’t exist.
Pink apparently had well-developed powers of mind and expression, along with religious zeal, but he lacked the revelation and intimacy with Christ that’s necessary to teach with authority. He taught as a scribe.
Pink had heard of the Lord with the hearing of the ear, but his eye hadn’t seen Him. Therefore he lacked the contrast between his own righteousness and the Lord’s, by which he would have despised himself and repented, holding his peace instead of speaking voluminous opinion about that which he didn’t know.
That’s what we see with Arthur Pink.
You suggest his shortfall in doctrine may have been due to experiencing only partial repentance. Repentance, however, is like pregnancy. A woman isn’t partially pregnant, and a believer isn’t partially repentant. When God gives the gift of repentance, it’s a done deal, a complete turn-around with nothing withheld. That’s why Jesus said:
“I say to you that likewise there shall be more joy in Heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine righteous who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7 EMTV).
How can the saints and angels rejoice over a sinner that’s still holding onto this sin?
Here’s a good example of repentance and what the Lord says about it:
Luke 19:1-10 MKJV
(1) And going in, He passed through Jericho.
(2) And behold, there was a man named Zaccheus, who was a chief tax-collector. And he was rich.
(3) And he sought to see Jesus, to see who He was. And he could not because of the press, because he was little in stature.
(4) And he ran in front and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him. For He was to pass through that way.
(5) And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him. And He said to him, “Zaccheus! Hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
(6) And hurrying he came down, and received Him joyfully.
(7) And seeing, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to stay with a sinful man.”
(8) And Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor. And in anything I accused anyone falsely, I restore it fourfold.”
(9) And Jesus said to him, “This day salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.
(10) For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Furthermore, God doesn’t send out His servants partially baked. He prepares and equips them for the task at hand. Pink presumed to be a minister of the Gospel, did he not? And what do the Scriptures say about that?
“My brothers, let not many become teachers, knowing that we shall receive greater judgment” (James 3:1 EMTV).
Shall not Pink be held up to God’s standards of service? Would God send him out to preach error, such as the abominable trinity? That doesn’t happen with the Lord, Who is the Truth from which His servants minister. It happens with men, however, which is why it’s called “the works of men, the paths of the destroyer” (Psalm 17:4).
When God is finished forming His vessels for the task at hand assigned by Him, they have no confidence in the flesh – only in Him. Read The Mark of the Beast and the Seal of God.
Long before the Lord had completed preparation in Victor and Marilyn for the ministry He had called them to, they knew no man could write a book on the sovereignty of God as Arthur Pink presumptuously attempted. They knew their lives, as with all saints, would be the expression of His sovereignty….
For more on God’s sovereignty expressed through a life, see wHaT tHe LoRd HaS dOnE wItH mE.